” Please note, applications for Western Australian State nomination for business and investor provisional visas are closed until further notice.

Western Australia has temporarily closed applications for State nomination for the Business Innovation and Investment provisional visas pending the release of additional places by the Department of Home Affairs. We value your interest in our program and encourage you to check this website regularly for updates. We hope to reopen the program shortly.”

Victorian government announcement – January 7th, 2019

“Victoria has temporarily closed applications for nomination of certain business and investor visas.

Victoria is currently experiencing a high volume of applications for nomination for select business and investor visas. To help manage this demand, and meet our service commitments to you, we are temporarily not accepting new applications for the following visa sub-classes:

We will continue to assess all nomination applications received prior to 5 January 2019, however please be advised delays may occur in providing outcomes for these applications.

Your interest in the Business Innovation & Investment Program is highly valued and we hope to reopen the program shortly. We cannot provide a specific date or timeframe at this point, however encourage you to visit the Live in Melbourne website regularly for program updates.”

If you have any questions regarding Victorian business migration, either now or in the future, please Contact Us.

More occupations available for overseas workers

On Wednesday 2nd January, 2019 the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA II), came into effect in the Northern Territory on January 1. The program is targeted at recruiting skilled migrants to the territory, and increases the number of occupations available to overseas workers.

Business & Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) temporarily suspends new invitations for business migration – will open again at a date to be advised https://t.co/nLPMWTsS2n— Australian visas (@CargilMigration) January 2, 2019

If you want to discuss how this will effect you, or plan for an application once the program opens again please Contact Us

As usual at this time of the year, there have been some changes announced to the GSM visa programme by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

From 1 July 2018, applicants will need to score 65 points to eligible to be considered for a GSM visa. This is an increase of 5 points. The effected GSM visa subclasses are:

Skilled-Independent (Permanent) Subclass 189;

Skilled-Nominated (Permanent) (Subclass 190; and

Skilled-Regional Sponsored (Provisional) Subclass 489

The increase is in response to the high demand for GSM visas. It also reflects the high scores that current applicants in the Skill Select Expression of Interest (EOI) pool are claiming.

For applicants who are invited to apply for a GSM visa prior to 1st July 2018, they won’t be effected by the increase in points. These invited individuals can continue to prepare and submit their application. As is stands currently, any invited applicants will need to ensure that they lodge their applications within the required 60 days.

If you could like to discuss how this will effect you please Contact Us.

Substantial increases to the AoS bond & income requirements

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) have announced some major changes to the Assurance of Support (AoS) requirements. These changes are significant and will greatly effect parent visa applicants. This includes those who have not yet lodged this visa, or have, but have not had their AoS requested prior to 1st April, 2018.

The primary changes are:

Assurance of Support (AoS) bond

From the 1st April, 2019 the ten year bond requirement will increase for both the main applicant and any additional applicants. The respective increases are:

Main applicant – the bond will be increased from $10,000 AUD to $15,000 AUD.

Additional applicant/s – the bond will be increased from $4,000 AUD to $6,000 AUD.

Assurer/s – income requirements doubled

The AoS can be provided by from 1 to 3 Assurers. To act as an Assurer the individual must meet an income test. The income test requirements to be met will vary depending on the number of applicants (assurees) to be assured and the number of family members in the assurers family.

The income test was changed retrospectively to take effect as at 1st April, 2018. These new income test requirements have in some cases doubled. When the AoS is requested, before the bond is made, the assurer/s must be able to show they meet the new income requirements for both the current financial year and the previous two financial years.

What will be the effect of these changes?

The changes, particularly the income requirements, are quite significant. Some individuals, including those who have lodged their visas already, may find it difficult to find assurers who meet these new requirements. This could mean an unsuccessful visa application.

If you want to understand how these changes will effect you, and what you can do to minimise the risk of an unsuccessful visa, please get in touch.

2018 has already seen a number of changes to Australian immigration. Some of these were detailed in our most recent post.

Following on from these changes, last week the Northern Territory have updated the occupations that they will consider nominating for the Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa or the Skilled Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 489) Visa.

If you would like to look at whether you may be eligible for a General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa, be a state or territory nominated visa – such as the Subclass 190 or Subclass 489 visa – or the Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa please check out the list below.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on relevant matters. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute immigration or legal advice. You are advised to seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content contained in this website